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“You cannot plan for Mother Nature and the elements so a lot of it is whether you can negotiate the conditions.

“But it is also a holiday for us. We just really enjoy it.”

He explained that he began his hobby, with wife, Alison, after they were taken on a balloon ride above Windermere 25 years ago.

They were immediately hooked and decided to splash out on a second hand balloon for themselves.

The couple enjoyed it so much that they began entering competitions in 1991 and also set up business, Cumbria Balloons, which ran pleasure rides around the Lakes until they sold it shortly before Robbie turned 65.

Mr Mansfield added: “We loved it and Alison said straight away ‘can we get one?’ “There’s nothing like the feeling of being up in the balloon.”